Unmanned vehicles are being increasingly deployed for a variety of tasks including recreational activities such as recreational aerial filming or photography, monitoring of crops or wildlife, remote inspection of industrial equipment in areas where it may be dangerous or difficult to place personnel, law enforcement and search and rescue operations, delivery of supplies to remote or inaccessible locations, and military applications. Unmanned vehicles that are airborne are typically described as drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). UAVs generally carry cameras, sensors, communications equipment, or other useful payloads, and certain larger UAVs are capable of carrying these payloads for an extended period of time. Other UAVs, such as those commonly available to individuals, have more limited capabilities and can only carry smaller payloads for a shorter period of time.
One common technical aspect shared by unmanned vehicles including UAVs is that the vehicles do not include human operators in the vehicle itself, so some form of remote control or self-piloting by the UAV itself is necessary. Accordingly, UAVs may either be remotely piloted or optionally piloted unmanned systems. When optionally piloted, known UAVs may fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans, based on a set of predetermined rules, or a combination of both, for example. Even when remotely piloted, known UAVs may react autonomously in varying degrees in response to threats or other hazards. Such UAVs may employ limited autonomous modes that include the ability to self-level in flight, to loiter over a particular location, to execute take-offs or landings, to automatically travel to and return from a particular location, and to automatically land if communications are lost for an extended period of time. Some UAVs may include more autonomous modes that include the ability to execute complete flight plans by following waypoints, to react to obstacles while executing a flight plan or while being remotely piloted, and to perform certain portions of a flight plan with no oversight. Other known UAVs lack this capability and must be remotely piloted at all times. UAVs that are be typically purchased by consumers tend to require remote piloting at all times. There therefore exists a technical problem where at least some UAVs require at least remote control by a human operator.
Additionally, there exist growing concerns related to the increasing use of UAVs, governments are interested in regulating the use of UAVs. In particular, the integration of UAVs into a nation's regulated airspace that is used by manned vehicles such as conventional airplanes presents difficulties. Unlike the pilots for conventional airplanes, UAV operators need not obtain certifications or licenses prior to the operation of their devices. As such, many UAV operators may not be aware of the rules and regulations associated with portions of the airspace. Some jurisdictions such as the United States have imposed flight restrictions that ban the operation of UAVs in certain areas of the United States such as the airspace surrounding airports and the Washington, D.C. area. Even with this growing interest in regulation, however, no uniform technique for identifying the owner of a particular UAV exists should a violation occur, and no uniform technique is mandated by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. In addition, the relatively small size and radio signature of a UAV makes it difficult to detect their presence in restricted airspace, particularly when the restricted airspace is monitored with equipment designed to detect conventional aircraft of a much larger size. A technical problem therefore exists where known UAVs are difficult to impose flight restrictions because there is no uniform technique for identifying the owner of a particular UAV, and UAVs are generally difficult to detect due to their relatively small size and radar signature.
Another regulatory reaction to the increasing use of UAVs is the enactment of a registration requirement for UAVs weighing more than half a pound but less than fifty-five pounds. Operations of these UAVs are required to obtain a Certificate of Authorization from the FAA and to mark their UAVs. Although the FAA provides a registration number with the completed Certificate of Authorization and ties the specific owner with the specific UAV, the FAA does not dictate how the registration number is to be placed onto the UAV. Instead, the FAA suggests placing the registration number on the UAV by using a permanent marker, a label, or by engraving the number onto the UAV. The FAA regulation also allows for the registration number to be placed in an accessible battery compartment. This multitude of possible locations and methods for marking a UAV make it difficult to quickly determine the party responsible for a UAV should an incident occur. This is particularly important in areas where UAV usage is restricted and the owner of the trespassing UAV must be ascertained in a timely manner. In addition, the various techniques suggested by the FAA require the UAV to be taken out of operation and landed before the registration number associated with the UAV may be ascertained. This therefore precludes the possibility of identifying the UAV operator while the UAV is in flight. There is therefore a technical problem where a particular UAV cannot be associated with its registration information while the UAV is in operation.
As discussed, known UAVs also depend on a remote human operator to provide at least some commands through wireless communications technologies. In addition, any imagery or other sensory data obtained by the UAV is typically desired by the human operators on a real-time or near real-time basis. Thus, two-way communication between the UAV and the human operator is desirable. Known UAVs typically available to consumers include the ability to use a Wi-Fi network to interface with the operator's smartphone, tablet, or other computing device. Wi-Fi networks are, however, limited in range and are susceptible to interference. More advanced UAVs employed by the military or law enforcement officials may use satellite links or other more robust and long-ranged wireless technologies to remain in contact with the operators over greater distances. These long-range wireless technologies are ordinarily well beyond the means of individuals and smaller corporations which limits the utility of UAVs in certain applications. There is therefore a technical problem where no uniform and reliable wireless communications between operators and various UAVs exists.
Another concern with UAVs is the multitude of control technologies being employed for different UAVs. Although certain consumer UAVs may be operated through smartphones, tablets, or other portable computing devices, more advanced UAVs may employ dedicated control systems specific to that particular model of UAV, or in some instances, a certain version of the particular model of UAV. The use of such dedicated control systems for UAVs that are tied to specific models and/or versions of UAVs therefore slows the adoption and deployment of advanced UAVs and imposes additional training requirements for operators. In addition, even though consumer UAVs may use portable computing devices as control systems, each UAV may utilize a unique control scheme that impedes the adoption of UAVs by consumers. The adoption of UAVs may therefore be facilitated by the utilization of more uniform control scheme so that a single control system may be employed for multiple models and/or versions of UAVs, and so that operators need not retrain or relearn a new control scheme for each UAV they operate. There therefore also exists technical problem where operators must learn each particular type of UAVs' specific control scheme and where each UAV may require a different control system.
These and other technical problems in known UAVs are addressed by the Vigilent Positioning System.